xx, 645 pages : 25 cm

A major new biography of the politically powerful forerunner of Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Clinton. Florence Harding reveals the never-before-told story of First Lady Florence Harding's phenomenal rise to power. The daughter of an abusive father in small-town Ohio, mother at a young age to an illegitimate child, Florence Harding saw her escape in Warren Harding, and became the driving force behind his ascent to one of the most scandal-ridden presidencies in United States history. Preeminent First Ladies biographer Carl Sferrazza Anthony not only captures the drama of Florence Harding's personality, but he uses the White House to bring to life Jazz Age America -- a world of speakeasies and Miss America, Babe Ruth, Al Jolson, and the rise of Hollywood. He shows how Florence's friendship with Evalyn McLean, the morphine-addicted owner of the Hope Diamond and The Washington Post was one of the defining bonds in her public life. With newly unsealed medical information, Florence Harding finally unfolds the mystery of whether the First Lady poisoned the President, whose death occurred seventy-five years ago. Florence Harding is a fascinating and informative look at a lost chapter in American history

Includes bibliographical references and index

Prologue: talking to the dead. Part one: early life, 1860-1891. 1. A proud family, a shrouded family -- 2. The girl on the horse -- 3. Whipped with a cherry switch -- 4. Living in sin -- 5. Divorce -- 6. "The thirst for love". Part two: the Marion Star and Columbus, 1891-1915. 7. Business and an illegitimate baby -- 8. Friends, neighbors, and the mental institution -- 9. Political wife -- 10. Adultery again -- 11. Betrayal and confrontation -- 12. Marion exodus. Part three: the Senate, 1916-1920. 13. Fish out of water -- 14. The morphine addict and the Hope Diamond -- 15. Lust and war -- 16. "I do not permit him to run". Part four: campaign and transition, 1926-1921. 17. The Zodiac of Jupiter -- 18. Blackmail -- 19. Chicago -- 20. Women -- 21. Racism, scandal, and movie stars -- 22. Prerogatives of a presidentess -- 23. More women. Part five: First Lady, 1921-1923. 24. "Flo from Ohio" -- 25. "No rumor exceeded the truth" -- 26. "Us girls" and "My boys" -- 27. "The Chief Executive and Mr. Harding" -- 28. The summer of '22 -- 29. The valley of death -- 30. One suicide and two resignations -- 31. Astral premonitions. Part Six: the Western and Alaska Tour, 1923. 32. The duchess of America -- 33. Poison -- 34. The heart of San Francisco -- 35. Negligent homicide. Part seven: the widow, 1923-1924. 36. The fires of August -- 37. Spies and scandals -- 38. Life at the sanitarium -- 39. Remembering

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